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Two I-A near-misses were the story in Gateway
Conference action on Sept. 11. Illinois State battled No. 22 Minnesota before
falling, 37-21, and top-ranked Southern Illinois fell at I-A Northern Illinois,
23-22, as a failed two-point try by the Salukis late in the fourth was the
difference.
In all, the Gateway went 5-3 on Saturday, including a 2-1 mark against I-AA
teams.
Elsewhere in the Gateway on Saturday, Sept. 11, UNI manhandled Minnesota
State, 40-0; Youngstown State fell to Florida International, 22-16 (ot); SMS
beat Sam Houston State, 33-31; Western Illinois pounded Cheyney, 98-7 (yes, 98);
Western Kentucky shut out Concord, 58-0; and Indiana State edged Eastern
Illinois in overtime, 33-30.
Northern Illinois 23, No. 1 Southern Illinois 22
Southern Illinois trailed Northern Illinois 23-16 Saturday with just over
two minutes remaining in the game. Quarterback Joel Sambursky led the team 78
yards for an eventual 19-yard touchdown reception by Brent Little.
SIU went for a 2-point conversion, and Sambursky’s pass to Chris Kupec
touched his hands but ended up incomplete. Northern held on for a 23-22 win. NIU
amassed 400 total yards to SIU’s 380. Sambursky was 16-for-27 for 208 yards and
a pair of touchdowns. Arkee Whitlock carried the ball 13 times for 96 yards.
Brandon Jacobs had 13 rushing attempts for 46 yards.
Saluki kicker Craig Coffin made three field goals, including a career-best
52-yard ace in the first quarter.
No. 22 Minnesota 37, Illinois State 21
For nearly three quarters Saturday, the Illinois State football team kept
the score close against Minnesota, but the Gophers, behind a pair of 80-yard
scoring plays, pulled ahead and avoided the upset, winning 37-21.
Illinois State set the tone almost immediately and sent a message to the
Gophers that the game was not going to be an easy one. On Minnesota’s first play
from scrimmage, Redbird linebacker Kye Stewart brought down Gopher running back
Marion Barber for a 3-yard loss, leading to a three-and-out series.
On the Redbirds’ ensuing drive, Yance Vaughan (33-57, 372 yards, 2 TD’s, 2
INT’s) connected with Ramon Barber who ran 43 yards down the Minnesota sideline
and into the end zone for an early 7-0 lead. Barber finished the day with 6
catches for 66 yards.
Demetrus Johnson was the leading rusher for the Redbirds, carrying 14 times
for 104 yards.
UNI 40, Minnesota State 0
UNI improved its record to 1-1 with a 40-0 win over Division II Minnesota
State this afternoon in the UNI-Dome.
The Panther defense held MSU to three of 15 on third-down conversions and
zero of one on fourth-down conversions. MSU totaled 124 yards on offense,
including 29 rushing and 95 passing. UNI converted on 13 of 21 third-downs and
tallied 549 total yards, including 328 rushing and 221 passing. Neither team
turned the ball over.
Tom Petrie led the Panthers in passing with 201 yards, completing 16 of his
26 passes. He threw for three touchdowns and had a long pass of 54 to Thorn on
the third touchdown of the game at the 13:19 mark in the second period. Petrie
also rushed for eight yards on five carries.
One injury of note in the first half when senior tailback Richard Carter
(Lansing, Mich./Sexton) went down with a foot injury. Up until the injury,
Carter had carried the ball six times for a total of 38 yards.
SMS 33, Sam Houston State 31
SMS quarterback A.J. Porter found receiver Kaya Farris for a seven-yard
touchdown pass with two seconds remaining in the game to cap a flurry of scoring
and give the Bears a 33-31 football victory over Sam Houston State Saturday at
Plaster Field.
The Bears (2-0) and the Bearkats (1-1) combined for 37 points in the final
period and 27 points in the last 2:37 as Porter’s pass to Farris gave SMS two
come-from-behind touchdowns in the final 1:33 of the game.
A couple of long touchdowns by both teams in a span of :23 made the score
31-27 Sam Houston State, with still 1:10 left on the clock.
The Bears started the winning drive on their own 21-yard line and Porter was
7-for-9 on the drive with the only two incompletions coming on “stop the clock”
plays.
Sam Houston had one last chance after a passing the ball around on the
kickoff return, the Bearkats attempted a 57-yard field goal that came up short
and left to clinch the victory for the Bears.
In the game, Porter was 28-for-38 for 342 yards and two touchdowns and Steven
Rush was his leading receiver with 10 catches for 152 yards. Five of Rush’s 10
receptions and 102 of his 152 yards came on the final two drives. SMS TB Cody
Pratt had 87 yards on a career-high 37 carries.
Indiana State 33, Eastern Illinois 30 (ot)
The last time Indiana State won at Eastern Illinois, the Sycamores advanced
to the NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs. They made a step in that direction Saturday
night, with their first win in Charleston, Ill., since 1983. The victory capped
the first-ever overtime game contested at EIU’s O’Brien Stadium.
Sophomore Kyle Hooper converted a 40 yard field goal as time expired to tie
the score at 30 and force overtime. And in the extra period, Hooper connected on
the 20-yard field goal to put ISU up 33-30 – besting his career-high of three
field goals made in a game, set last year against Eastern Illinois. Hooper has
made 13 career field goals in two seasons, seven of which have come against the
Panthers.
Sydney Montfort was the Sycamores’ leading rusher, gaining 63 yards with a
score, while Shields gained 18 yards with two touchdowns.
Western Illinois 98, Cheyney State 7
Travis Glasford rushed for 229 yards and six touchdowns in the first half of
Western Illinois University’s 98-7 victory over Cheyney University.
The Leathernecks (1-1) reached the end zone on 14 of their 15 drives, taking
a knee at the end of the game, and racked up a school-record 517 rushing yards,
including 255 in the second half. Glasford’s 229 yards and six scores were both
records for one-half of play, and his six touchdowns broke the Gateway
Conference mark, which he had tied last season at Youngstown State.
Placekicker Justin Langan, meanwhile, became Western’s all-time leading
scorer, ending the night with 283 points after connecting on all 14 extra point
attempts, also a league record and one shy of the NCAA I-AA all-time mark.
Western Kentucky 58, Concord 0
Western Kentucky University took advantage of numerous Concord (W.Va.)
mistakes to extend its winning streak in home openers to nine Saturday.
The Hilltopper defense forced four first-quarter turnovers that the offense
turned into touchdowns to lead 11th-ranked Western to a 58-0 non-conference
victory over the Mountain Lions at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field.
Western ended the contest plus-seven in turnover margin after intercepting
five passes and adding a pair of fumble recoveries. Western, meanwhile,
collected 500 yards of total offense.
Fla. International 22, Youngstown State 16 (ot)
Florida International backup quarterback David Tabor orchestrated
back-to-back touchdown drives in the fourth quarter to force overtime and threw
a one-yard touchdown in the first series of overtime to lead the Golden Panthers
to a 22-16 victory over Youngstown State on Saturday night at Stambaugh Stadium.
Tabor’s effort overshadowed a solid all-around effort by the Penguins. YSU
held a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and had a 13-0 advantage at halftime.
YSU QB Zetts finished 17-of-32 for 168 yards and a touchdown while Matt
Rycraft tallied eight catches for 96 yards. Monquantae Gibson led the rushing
attack with 122 yards on 22 carries and Josh Cayson chipped in with 50 yards on
14 carries. Jeremiah Wright posted a team-high 12 tackles while Mike Bracken and
Jason Perry finished with 11 apiece.
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